Reigning Commonwealth champion, Odunayo Adekuoroye says she is not under any form of pressure ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan, and remains confident of claiming a historic gold medal for Nigeria in wrestling.
The three-time World Championships medalist, Adekuoroye and four other Nigerian wrestlers will be aiming to win an Olympic medal. Having established herself globally as one of the best wrestlers, in the 57kg category, expectations are high that the 27-year-old would deliver Nigeria’s first-ever wrestling medal in Tokyo.
According to the six-time African champion, she is physically and mentally ready for the Games, adding that she enjoys huge support from her team in camp.
“I don’t have any pressure going to the Olympics, I’ve been to the Olympics before (in Rio 2016),” the Ondo State-born said.
“I have trained physically. Mentally, I have trained myself. And my coach has been on me every time. Even the President, (Daniel Igali), still comes to our training just to teach me some things. So, having an Olympic champion (Daniel Igali) in my gym, having a world-class coach (Purity Akuh), and my training partners are doing brilliantly well, I don’t have any pressure going to the Olympics.
“I believe by the special grace of God, it’s my time to shine. So, I will definitely bring gold to Nigeria by His grace.”
Adekuoroye won gold in Poland Open Ranking Series tournament last month, impressively demo-lishing World and Olympic champion, Helen Maroulis, of USA 13-0 via technical superiority on her way to landing the 57kg top prize.
The 2-time Common-wealth champion says her performance at the Poland Open inspires the confi-dence needed to excel in Tokyo.
The Tokyo 2020 Games will run from 23 July to 8 August, with wrestling scheduled for 1 – 7 August 2021.